GDL (Law Conversion Course)

[PureAppleJuice]

Dear OcUKers,

Who here has undertaken the law conversion course? I'm asking as I start in September (part-time, evenings). Where did you do it, how did you find it and what is/was your intended profession?

Annoyingly I'm studying mine part-time so I can earn whilst I do it, sadly I wish I had the money to get it out the way with full-time in one fell swoop!

 

[Nikias]

I did it at Nottingham Law School full-time. It was fine, apart from the examination period at the end which was hellish.

I have a training contract with a City firm who sponsored me through it, otherwise I would not have been able to afford to do the full-time course either.

 

[EdwardTeach]

I did it at Nottingham full time. Looking back it is a very hard course, harder than the lpc for example.

I am doing the lpc at the moment, part time at bpp holborn. In some ways it is easier stretching the course out, but balancing it with work and family commitments is very tough. If you want time for revision you need to take that as holiday.

Consider carefully whether it is worth your while doing the course without a training contract. There are far more gdl and lpc graduates being turned out than jobs. It could be a big waste of money and time for you.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I found the LPC harder tbh.

 

[PureAppleJuice]

I did it at Nottingham Law School full-time. It was fine, apart from the examination period at the end which was hellish.

I have a training contract with a City firm who sponsored me through it, otherwise I would not have been able to afford to do the full-time course either.

Oh well done, which firm? My best friend has a TC at Simmons & Simmons, he's doing the MBA after the GDL & LPC.

I think I will have a tough time of it financially, sigh. I'm doing the BPTC full-time after the GDL which I think will be nightmareish, let's just hope I get a job out of it all!

 

[Nikias]

Oh well done, which firm? My best friend has a TC at Simmons & Simmons, he's doing the MBA after the GDL & LPC.

I think I will have a tough time of it financially, sigh. I'm doing the BPTC full-time after the GDL which I think will be nightmareish, let's just hope I get a job out of it all!

I would rather not give away too many personal details on here, but I am happy to answer questions by PM. Simmons is a very good firm and no doubt he will be sponsored as well, but he must still have a bob or two lying around to do an MBA!

Most people on my course did not have training contracts when they started the GDL; I was very much in a minority, so I would not worry unduly if you do not have anything lined up now. Many more got training contracts during the course, although obviously not pupillages because of the different recruitment timetable.

I was rather keen on the Bar myself upon graduating, but, owing to how ridiculously competitive it is for anything not family or criminal, I decided I would try my hand at getting a TC first since I could not apply for pupillages then anyway. I managed to get one first time round and felt turning it down would be a rather bad move in this economy, so I am going to see how being a solicitor works out for me and consider converting at a later date if it doesn't.

Obviously I don't know your academic history etc., but you might want to consider applying for TCs this summer and converting later too. If you get one this summer for two years in advance then you would still be able to get on a full-time GDL course, no problem (people turned up just a week before and still got a place at mine). I got a First from a good university, speak fluent German, worked abroad for a year, was involved in many societies at university, did a decent amount of work experience (a mini-pupillage, three placements at solicitors' firms, and two marshalling stints at a crown and a county court) and I still did not fancy my chances at the Bar. I might just have a typical lawyer's mind and cannot abide risk though! Good luck with it all, whatever you decide to do.

 

[PureAppleJuice]

Yes, I'm applying for TCs anyway, just on the off chance I feel that the Bar might be all too much! Simmons are sponsoring his MBA which is quite fortunate! I applied there but got rejected sadly. Still waiting to here back from others.

Hmm, my academic history is mixed; my A-Levels really aren't very good but I have reasonably good extenuating circumtances for that (made homeless at 16, spent two years on friends' sofas yada yada) but I do have a strong 2:1 from a good red brick university, with, like you, lots of societies and that.

I'm fairly well connected with various Chambers and barristers so I'm just hoping that perhaps that'll mean something*, we shall see though. An exciting future ahead. Where did you do your mini-pupillage out of interest? I'm hoping to undertake one perhaps next summer. Sadly, I'm all too happy to take risks which will either make for better or worse!

*Sorry, just re-read that, made me sound like a bit of a moron, by well connected, I meant that I am involved with and have a good understanding of judicial process as a result with a fair amount of practical experience. I work in Chambers.

 

[Nikias]

Very sensible and pragmatic. I took the view that you have nothing to lose except your time in applying, but there were a surprising number of people on my course with their hearts set on the Bar who wouldn't dream of applying to be a mere *solicitor*.
Chambers also like to see vacation schemes etc. on your CV if you want to apply for those as well, since then you can then talk about why you don't want to be a solicitor at an interview.

I did my mini-pupillage, if you can properly call it that, at 15 Winckley Square in Preston: a rather informal thing that I got basically because I knew a friend of a friend etc. and wrote a nice letter. The Bar is still very much like that in my experience, but the big solicitors' firms are quite strict on their anti-nepotism policies. I tried, and failed miserably, to use the few connections I had at a couple of City firms to land me a TC; I ended up getting mine with a firm I had had nothing to do with before, not even a vacation scheme. You should use every connection you have though and it sounds like you might make a few working in chambers!

I can commend shadowing judges to you as well, if you can find and persuade one to let you. Quite good fun sitting at the Bench and pretending counsel are making submissions to you, if you can ignore the drug-dealers and rapists glaring at you from the dock.

 

[manveruppd]

I actually did one as well (FT) this year, found it very intensive and hard going. Then again I'm in my 30s so my capacity to memorise information isn't what it is for my coursemates, who were all 10 years younger. Didn't find any of the material difficult at all, it's just that the pace of it was extraordinary and the amount of case names you had to memorise way beyond my brain's feeble capacity.

PT while working would've probably been a better way to go, as it would've freed up some time to search for work experience schemes (I don't have any experience in the legal field at all!) and do a bit of pro bono work. Good luck to the OP!